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Bad beats are part of poker. Some days I am the bug and some days I am the windshield. Whether online or live, poker is gambling. If you can consistently put someone on only HIGH cards, then that is the 'tell'. There are two ways to play poker - 1st, Win the Hand - 2nd, Win the Game/Money. The toughest thing in poker is to lay-down a perceived great hand when you know you've been 'sucked out'. There are a couple of chapters in Super System 2 that are excellent for understanding the 'new player'; the donkey who calls everything and wins some big pots by drawing out. If 'any two cards' is not your style of poker, then just learn to spot this type of player and avoid getting in hands with them, they will race you to the river more often than not. If you are in a cash game, pick your battles wisely - it's not just about your position, it's about who is 'in' or 'out' of the hand too. A lot of new players have never read any poker therory books, they don't know about 'position', preflop raises, etc... they just want to get their chips in the pot so they can 'maybe' pull it off.
I played in a cash game (at a casino) with a guy that absolutely irritated EVERYONE, even the dealer. He called every hand, he raised (pot builder) every hand. He was borderline rude to everyone and just a jerk of a person. But he knew what he was doing - he was pissing off the table so he could get people into pots to try and knock him off. He made more than 700 dollars in the 30 minutes I was at the table with him. He even took about 50 bucks from me (and I am a tight player). He made people at the table play his game, rather than playing their own. I sat out and watched for another 30 minutes, and he cracked AA, KK, QQ - at that point I couldn't watch the train-wreck anymore.
Bottom line - bad beats suck, whether I am getting the beating or giving it. I try to be a good sport about it, say 'nice hand' and just make a mental note of who is a calling machine.
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